PS I Think I Love You
by StarryNightxoxo
Summary: Valentine's Day had always been living hell for the popular Youichi Hijiri. But on this special day, he meets a special girl who captures his heart unknowingly. YxA. This is my first story, so pardon me if it's not very good. COMPLETE.
1. There's Always a First

This is my first story ever, so it might not be good, but I'll try my best! :)

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. **

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><p><em>Bloody hell. <em>I glared at the calendar which was pasted on a wall of my dorm, which stated clearly that today was 14 February. _Bloody Valentine's Day. _

"What's up, Hijiri? Has the calendar offended you in any way?" my roommate and buddy, Ryuu, asked wryly.

"Yeah, it's freaking Valentine's Day," I muttered with a little shudder.

"Aww, we have Mr. Popularity here, haven't we?" Ryuu grinned, slapping me on the back. "Chill, bro, it's only one day of receiving chocolates, it won't kill you."

"I guess," I sighed as I slipped on a black blazer and got ready to go to class.

Frankly, I had no doubt I was going to receive tons of chocolate. And it's not even as if I'm bragging or anything. Seriously, what is there to brag about having flirty girls fluttering their spider-legs lashes at you, confessing their 'undying love' and presenting you with icky heart-shaped chocolates?

Back at my previous school, I received so much chocolates every single year on Valentine's Day that my whole family had to help finish up all the chocolates. As such, we always ended up with a horrible cough for the next whole week. Really, if my mother hadn't been that emotional, I would have dumped the whole lot of chocolates into the bin. Hold on. Maybe I'd have fed them to the stray dogs lurking outside my house, since wasting food is a sin.

I walked to my classroom slowly, putting a cool and careless mask on my face and trying not to reveal the fact that I was actually freaking out. I slumped into my seat in the second row and glanced around the classroom. Just as I had expected, a swarm of girls surrounded me in less than ten seconds since I set foot into this classroom. _I knew it. _Even girls from a school as posh as Alice Academy would act deranged and desperate on Valentine's Day.

"Youichi-kun!" the girls screamed, almost bursting my eardrums.

I rolled my pale green eyes to the ceiling and muttered, "What do you want? Get lost."

"That's so mean, Youichi-kun!" a few girls started sobbing.

"But that's what makes Youichi-kun so hot!" another girl said indignantly.

"Yeah, that's totally right, Rika!"

"He's so hot!"

"Youichi-kun, please accept my feelings and chocolates!" a girl slinked over and twirled a strand of golden hair around her fingers.

She thrust a box wrapped in sparkly pink paper and topped with a huge ribbon bow at me. I winced internally at all the pink and all the hearts printed on the glittery wrapping paper.

"Scram," I said coldly as I removed a book from my bag and pretended to read.

"Youichi-kun!" the noisy girls whined.

Seriously, I would rather listen to a pack of mad dogs bark than listen to whiny girls bawl their hearts out. Irritated, I slammed my book on the desk and stormed out of the classroom. I needed to go to somewhere tranquil. I needed some peace and quiet. I walked-ran up the staircase leading to the roof of the huge building, in case the noisy brats came after me. I pushed open the wooden door leading to the rooftop and let myself in. It was quiet and a soft breeze was blowing gently, ruffling my messy gray hair. Finally, a refuge from the irritating girls.

"You-chan!" a surprised voice exclaimed.

I spun around and saw Aoi Hyuuga, a girl from my class, sitting cross-legged on the ground and looking up from her book. Her shoulder-length raven hair was flying out behind her as a result of the breeze. _Not again, _I groaned inwardly. _Another freaking girl? Is this school infested with sneaky, deranged girls waiting to spring on guys to give them freaking chocolates on freaking Valentine's Day? Can't someone have a bit of peace and quiet without getting interrupted at all? _To my surprise, Hyuuga just flashed me her usual bright smile and returned to reading her book. How weird. I had expected her to spring up and bug me with a confession and pester me to accept her chocolates.

Curious, I walked over to where she was sitting and before I knew what I was doing, I had sat down on the smooth concrete ground beside her. She glanced up from her book and brushed away a few strands of hair from her face. Frankly, she looked rather... pretty, with her huge innocent crimson eyes and silky black hair. Hang on, did I just say _pretty? _Me, Youichi Hijiri, actually thought of a girl as _pretty. _I must be going crazy, just like the pack of fangirls. Valentine's Day could really drive someone mad.

"What's up, You-chan?" Hyuuga asked, a smile playing on her pink lips.

"Oh, nothing, just escaping from the bunch of irritating girls, old hag," I smirked.

I watched as Hyuuga's face turned as red as her eyes. She glared at me, irritated. She was kind of cute, I had to admit. She looked just like an unruly puppy- pissed off but still innocent-looking and harmless.

"Old hag?" she gasped. "Who did you just call an old hag?"

"No one in particular, hag," I grinned. It was rather fun teasing her.

"You-chan, what's with you?" Hyuuga groaned, smacking my arm with her book.

"That's what you get for calling me 'You-chan'. That name is so gross and tacky. 'Hag' sounds much better than that tacky name you gave me, Hyuuga," I replied as I watched Hyuuga, intrigued.

Her every action seemed fascinating to me. She pouted and played with a strand of ink-black hair. It made me want to reach out and touch her hair, to feel the silkiness of it. _Holy crap, _I thought. _Valentine's Day should be renamed as Mess-up-someone's-brain Day. _I had never felt the urge to touch anyone before, not even my mother. For God's sake, why in the world did I feel like touching Aoi Hyuuga? And why did I want to continue to watch her every action closely? Why did she fascinate me? And it was only the first time we really interacted with each other! Sure, we saw each other in class every single day. She sits right in front of me but we barely exchanged a few words.

"Call me 'Aoi' instead," Hyuuga said, looking into my eyes. "It sounds much nicer than 'Hyuuga' or Hag. That is, if you want to..."

"A... Aoi..." I murmured, trying it out.

Aoi's crimson eyes widened and a ghost of a blush flickered across her pale cheeks. "T-t-thanks, You-chan..."

I wanted to shoot myself. I have never ever called a girl by her first name before. But it felt right as her name fell off my tongue. _Aoi. Aoi. Aoi._ It was as if my mouth was made to say her name and no one else's. It sounded so right. I was actually rather ashamed that I had thought of her as the typical girl: noisy, flirty, empty-headed. She was actually more intelligent and normal than the other girls. They were just dizzy, crazy fangirls who could practically die just to get close to a good-looking boy. But Aoi wasn't like that. I have never seen her flirting, to tell you the truth. Sure, guys in my class liked to flirt with her but she just flashed them her trademark smile and continued to be as friendly to them as ever. _Hold it right there, Youichi Hijiri, does this mean that you've always been noticing Aoi Hyuuga's actions in class as well? _a small voice in my brain asked. I froze. Had I sub-consciously started to take an interest in Aoi Hyuuga?

"You-chan?" Aoi asked quietly, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, Aoi-hag?" I replied, still slightly bewildered by the fact that I might have unknowingly took an interest in her.

"It was nice talking to you!" she beamed suddenly, her scarlet eyes sparkling. "I've never really talked to you and this meeting today really made me see you in a new light! See you!"

Just like that, she picked up her book, stood up and brushed off her pleated skirt before waving to me and sauntering out through the door. _New light? _I wondered. What did she think I was like before today? And what does she think of me now? _Thinking about her again, Youichi Hijiri? _another voice in my brain taunted. _Ha, you're officially smitten with the girl! This is a first! _

I stood up, a faint smile flickering across my face. There's always a first time for everything... Like my first time developing an interest and probably feelings for a girl I talked to for practically the first time. Oh God, please don't tell me that I was... falling in love? _Me, Youichi Hijiri, falling in love? _That thought seemed so ridiculous that I just brushed it aside.

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><p>Chapter 1 is finally completed! I hope it's not too bad. Please review, I would really appreciate it! This might probably be a cliche storyline, but I suddenly got the inspiration and I wanted badly to write it down. Thank you for reading this, I really appreciate it! :)<p> 


	2. She's the Exception

Here's the second chapter! It's a little late because of my exams (and the fact that I'm working on another fanfic) but now that they're over (YAY! XD) I'm going to write more :D And thanks so much for the reviews! They really made my day! :) Oh, and sorry for my obsession of writing the names of the pastries instead of just writing _cake. _Probably an after-effect of re-watching Yumeiro Patissiere XD

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. (Honestly, if I owned it I'd probably be over the moon)**

**Chapter 2: She's the Exception**

**Written by: Starrynightxoxo**

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><p><em>She loves me, she loves me not, <em>I chanted inside my brain as I ripped petals after petals off a blood-red rose_. Crap_. This wasn't helping at all. The crimson rose reminded me of Aoi's beautiful ruby eyes_... Shut up, Youichi. What the hell? Are you freaking crazy? Why is your freaking brain obsessed with this girl_? _Yucks, you make me sick. You sound so mushy, like a meek young maiden in love, _a voice in my brain said scathingly.

I could not help but agree with it. What was I doing, hiding in the dorm's bathroom with a rose, peeling the petals to get an answer to a question that has been bugging me for, well, hours? What I found even more ridiculous was the fact that the question I was asking this stupid rose was _'does she love me?' _Frustrated, I stopped picking at the petals and chucked the remains of the rose into the toilet bowl. I jabbed the flush button and with a gurgle, the evidence of the girlish and immature thing I had been doing was destroyed.

The truth is, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I did not even have the slightest idea whether I liked Aoi Hyuuga or not, so why should I bother finding out whether she liked me? I raked a hand through my hair and shook my head, as if doing that would throw all the confusing thoughts out of my mind. I opened the door of the bathroom and walked into the dorm, feeling a twinge of embarrassment. If Ryuu ever found out what I had been doing... I winced, not wanting to think about the consequences.

"Hey, Hijiri," Ryuu grinned as he glanced up from his book. He was lazing on his bed, flipping through a manga.

"Hey, what's up?" I replied.

"Nothing... Hey, it's almost time for dinner. Let's go to the dining room, yeah?" he looked up from his book.

"Uh, yeah, sure." I nodded, still feeling slightly ashamed of the whole rose thing.

Ryuu and I sloped off together to the dining room. I pushed open the door and what greeted my sight caused goosebumps to rise on my arms. My jaw practically hit the floor.

"_Bloody hell_! _What the hell is this shit?"_ I spit out, staggering backwards.

The normally-elegant dining room was decorated with red and pink heart-shaped balloons, streamers and a huge pink banner bearing the words '_Happy Valentine's Day!_' and there was even a lipstick mark on it. I cringed. _How tacky and disgusting is this? _Even the chairs and tables in the dining room were draped with baby-pink silk and decorated with white ribbons.

"Chill, dude. I know this is... overwhelming," Ryuu admitted, giving me a pat on my shoulder.

Right. _Chill, Youichi. You don't want to look uncool, do you? _I told myself, trying to change my bewildered expression into a _Yeah-I'm-cool-and-all-this-sickly-Barbie-stuff-doesn't-freak-me-out, not-in-a-hundred-years_ one. I nodded stiffly and strode towards the long buffet table which was, of course, covered in pink. I grabbed a plate and got ready to fill my it. _I really hope there's that heavenly pot-au-feu_... When I lifted the cover of the metal container that held one of the many choices of food, I could practically see my hope disintegrating into dust in front of me.

"_Jesus Christ, what in the world is all these?" _I exploded, unable to contain myself any longer.

The people around me whirled around and stared at me, but not in the usual swoony and _Oh-I-love-you-so-much-Youichi-kun _way. Instead, they were staring at me as if I had suddenly grown six heads and four extra limbs. But I _just _didn't care anymore. I was glaring at the amount of pink in front of me. The food in front of me was pink macaroons shaped like hearts. Feeling my heart thump faster, I whipped the covers of the remaining rectangular containers away.

"_Oh God..." _I stared at the food.

_Pink, pink, pink. _It was all pink and heart-shaped. _Pink pastries. _Pink cookies, heart-shaped Gâteau au Chocolat, ring-donuts dipped in pink chocolate, choux à la crème filled with pink strawberry cream... Feeling slightly sick, I dumped my plate on the table before walking away. _Way to make me lose my appetite, huh? _I swear, if I see anything pink again, I'll rip it into pieces. No kidding. That's why I had to get away from this _pink _room before I wrecked the whole place. I made my way to the door, trying to avoid all the pink stuff.

"You-chan!" an all-too-familiar voice called out.

My heart immediately started hammering in my chest and I spun around in double maths. _Crap, did I look desperate? _

_"_Yo, Aoi-hag, what's..." I started to say, but the word _'up' _totally got stuck in my throat.

_How can a person look so adorable and innocent? _Aoi was standing in front of me, smiling as always, her cheeks slightly flushed. Her raven hair was curled into loose waves and a small sparkling tiara crowned her head. She was dressed in a strapless pink tube dress and white satin heels. She smiled at me shyly and I could feel blood rush to colour my cheeks. I glanced down before she could see my red face.

"W-what's wrong, You-chan?" she asked, concerned, looking up so that she could see my face. "Ah! Your face is all red! Do you have a fever? Is that why you're leaving so early?"

_Stupid, dense girl. _For a moment there, I forgot that I had absolutely no right to say that of her. I was stupid and dense _too_, for not admitting that I liked Aoi Hyuuga, even to myself.

"That's bad!" Aoi cried. "Oh, you must go back to your room and rest now before your fever gets worse! But... oh... now that you have a fever, I can't give you chocolates, can I? But... I wanted to give them to everyone... You-chan is the only one besides Miya-chan who hasn't gotten my chocolates..."

She gazed at me with huge puppy-dog eyes as she removed her hand from behind her back, revealing a small box wrapped in... newspaper. _Holy crap, how did she do that? That innocent puppy-eyes look... _I blinked a few times.

"N-no... it's okay..." I said, snatching the box from her hands.

"But, You-chan, don't force yourself to eat them, 'kay? You can't eat chocolates when you're sick!" Aoi glanced at me through her long eyelashes with pleading eyes.

"S-sure..." I nodded, still wondering why she had wrapped the box in newspaper and tucking the box into a pocket of my jeans.

As if she could read my mind, she said, "Ah, I wrapped it in newspaper because I wanted to recycle it. You know, what with global warming and all that. I just wanted to do a part for Mother Nature, that's all."

_Hn, _I thought. _How interesting. All those girls who gave me chocolates were simply killing trees with those fancy wrapping paper. _

"Anyway, how do I look?" Aoi asked suddenly, her eyes shining. "My friends told me to dress up for tonight's special Valentine's dinner."

_You look gorgeous, _was what I actually thought, but I just rolled my eyes and scoffed, "You look ugly, as always." _Oh God, what the hell was wrong with me? Why must I lie like that? _

But Aoi simply grinned. "I'm getting used to your acid tongue, You-chan. It's a miracle."

I stared at her, trying to save this image of her in her cute pink dress in my heart forever. Wait, pink? Didn't I just swear that I would rip anything pink into pieces? That would mean ripping Aoi's dress... I felt my heart race, my face flush. Oh God, I sounded like a pervert, a sicko preying on an innocent young girl. _Ripping Aoi's dress indeed... _But, if I were going to rip any girl's clothes, I would very much like Aoi to be the only one. Yeah, I want her to be mine. Only mine. I want her to belong to only me, Youichi Hijiri.

"You-chan!" she gasped. "Your fever must be getting worse! Look at how red your face is! Go back to your dorm, now!"

I rolled my eyes and bade goodbye to her before sauntering off back to the dorm. When I got back to the room, I flopped down on my bed. I was feeling kind of hungry after skipping dinner. Rolling my eyes, I pulled out the box from my pocket and twirled it around in my hands. Aoi's chocolates. I'd definitely keep it and eat it myself, unlike the other chocolates I had received. I had given half of them to Ryuu, and the others fed stray dogs lurking outside the gates of the school. I peeled open the newspaper carefully and opened the box. Inside was a single round chocolate with _'Y' _written in icing sugar on it. Y for Youichi. How weird. Most of the chocolates I'd received were heart-shaped and had _ILYs _written on them. I took a bite and my eyes widened. The outer layer was bitter chocolate while the inside was milk chocolate.

That was when I noticed a slip of paper in the box. I unfolded it and read it. _You-chan, I made this chocolate specially for you! I had you in mind while making it... Bitter, yet sweet at the same time, just like you. You can be mean, but you can be really nice too! Have a nice day! Yours, Aoi Hyuuga :) _The word 'yours' made me jump a little. _How stupid was I? Yours _is a basic term to use when signing off... I knew that, but why did I suddenly feel a... a wave hit me? I wanted nothing but Aoi Hyuuga. I wanted her to be _mine. I wanted the term 'yours' to apply literally, when Aoi writes to me. _

Why did I feel so... emotional? Before I knew what I was doing, I had grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from my desk and started scribbling on it, my heart and soul poured into the words I was writing.

_Dear Aoi,_

_Oi, hag, thanks for the chocolates. And what was it about me being mean, eh? Tch, anyway, thanks again. _

_Youichi_

_PS. I love you. Please be mine, and mine alone. Please be my girlfriend. You're different from any girl I've ever known. I love you, honestly. This is the first time I'm being honest with myself. I'm wretchedly in love with you. One day, it just suddenly hit me, that you're the one that I need. Give me a chance, please? _

Suddenly, I was brought back to reality. I dropped the pen and gazed at the words I had written. My face flushed and I started slashing lines through the last paragraph. I was not going to include that, _obviously. _On second thoughts, I should rip this letter or crush it or burn it. _Wait, didn't Aoi say something about... global warming? _Rolling my eyes, I cancelled all the words in the last paragraph with a marker pen, just in case, and placed it into Ryuu's recycling box which I'd never used before.

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><p>Phew, finally done! How was it? OwO Please review, I'd really, really appreciate it! :) And Youichi sure is possessive in this story, yeah? *laughs* Oh, and now that my exams are finally over, I might be updating sooner! :)<p> 


	3. Subconsciousness

**Author's note: **Thank you for reviewing the previous chapters, darlings who reviewed. :) I'll love you forever. Although this story isn't really popular and doesn't receive many reviews, I still enjoy writing it and I won't give this up. After all, this is my first story ever. Once again, thank you for reading, for believing that this story will be worth your time. :)

**Disclaimer: **How many times do I have to say this? I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. I won't be here in the first place if I did.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Subconsciousness<strong>

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><p>Months had passed since that awful (well, not exactly that awful, if you get what I mean) Valentine's Day.<p>

"Now, now, dear children!" that sissy teacher Naru called out as he clapped his hands. "Our class will be doing a play for the upcoming cultural festival, which will be held in about a month's time."

He tweaked his purple tartan coat and did a little spin. "Well, of course, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. I'm here to guide you, so you can be sure that this play will be extremely successful!"

"You're the reason why we have to worry about this stupid play," I muttered under my breath.

"Come on, You-chan, live a little!" Aoi, who apparently heard my complaint, turned around and teased.

Over the months, her hair had grown longer; it now hung a few inches below her shoulders. I was staring into her crimsom orbs, entranced, when Naru, that _idiot, _clapped his hands once again and said, "Now, that's enough, Hyuuga-san and Hijiri-kun. You can continue flirting after my lesson is over."

The class sniggered and the crazy self-proclaimed fangirls of mine started making a din. Aoi blushed and quickly tore her eyes away from mine and turned back to Naru.

"Anyway, back to the topic, we will be selecting the cast for now. Since I know that my dear students will be too shy to volunteer, I have prepared this." Naru whipped out two cardboard boxes from under his desk and set it on top of it. "We'll be drawing lots to determine the members of the cast. Now isn't that the loveliest method?"

Absolute, icy silence greeted this Naru was sure thick-headed. It was painfully obvious that the class was thinking ' _Lovely? More like the exact opposite_.' Well, whatever floats your boat, I guess, freaky Naru.

"Now we'll be deciding on the role of the prince," Naru announced.

"Wait, what the hell is this play all about anyway?" someone shouted, which was exactly what I was thinking.

"Well..." Naru drew in a deep breath before breaking into a delighted smile. "I'm so glad you asked, darling! It's... Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs! Kind of cliche, I know, but well, I know my awesome class will pull off this really well, right?"

I groaned internally. Snow White? How tacky and cheesy. God, Alice Academy should really be renamed as Tacky Academy. First the Valentine's Day thing and now this.

"Now, now, time to get back to business," Naru said, snapping back to business-mode all of a sudden. He pulled out a slip of folded paper from the box. "Youichi Hijiri-kun will be the prince."

I tried to stifle my gasp. It came out sounding like a hiccup. "Prince? What the hell are you tryin' to pull here, Naru?"

"Kyaaaaa! Youichi-kun is totally fit to be the prince! No one else can be a better prince than him!" the stupid fangirls started screaming. "Youichi-kuuuuuuun!"

Aoi burst into fits of giggles. "You-chan as the prince, how cute!"

"Shut up, hag," I retorted, giving her a death glare.

"And now for Snow White..." Naru slipped his hand into another box, which I guess was filled with slips of paper with the girls' names written on them. He fished out a piece of paper and unfolded it. He looked at it and smirked. Now, that was... creepy. "For the role of Snow White, we'll have Aoi Hyuuga-san!"

Aoi's giggles trailed away and she froze. This time, it was my turn to snicker at her. "Hey, look who gets the last laugh?"

"NO!" a girl with blond hair slammed her hand on her desk. Apparently, she was my fangirl as well. "In Snow White there's a kissing scene, isn't there? That means that Hyuuga-san gets to kiss Youichi-kun? That's so unfair! Our poor Youichi-kun's lips will be taken away by this girl!"

I rolled my eyes at two things. Firstly, there was _no way _there would be a kissing scene, right? This was a school play after all. Secondly, that blondie was so irritating and noisy. I would rather get kissed by a dog than get kissed by the likes of her. Not Aoi, I mean. I meant that stupid blondie.

"Well!" Naru cried. "Of course there will be a kissing scene!"

My jaws dropped at the same time as Aoi's.

"But, but, but," Naru continued quickly, glancing at the both of us. "It will not be a real kiss. Hijiri-kun here will just have to pretend to kiss Hyuuga-san. You know, just lean in close and pretend to peck her close to the mouth and _not _on the mouth exactly."

There were still a few protests at this but Naru calmed the class down by continuing to pick the other characters. My cheeks were flaming and I tried to hide my blush. I actually had to peck Aoi! Well, just on the cheek, but still.

After all the roles had been decided, Naru handed out the scripts. "Be sure to memorise all your lines! We'll have rehearsals starting from next week, so that gives you a week to memorise all of them!"

I groaned as I threw the script on my desk. What the hell is this? Tch. I guess I'll just have to do this for the class's sake and_ not _for the sake of kissing Aoi. NOT. Get it? Not for the sake of kissing her. On the cheek. Well, I couldn't help but feel a _little _disappointed.

**The Day of the Cultural Festival, i.e. The Day of the Play**

"Sheesh, what the hell is this stupid monkey suit?" I demanded as I tugged at the sleeves of my suit. I was forced to dress in a white button-down shirt, a long black jacket, shorts, black knee-high socks and black boots.

"Hijiri-kun, just make the best of it, okay?" Naru pleaded. "Oh, look, there's our Snow White! Aww, the dress suits her!"

I spun around and my eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Aoi was wearing hair extentions so her raven hair, which was styled into curls, reached her waist. She was wearing a blue and white ball gown and a red hairband with a ribbon.

"Isn't Snow White supposed to have short hair?" I asked Naru, while I was still in a daze.

"Well, we don't have to copy the original Snow White exactly, do we?" he winked. "We're raising the curtains soon, so please get ready!" he added in a louder voice.

Soon, the play was in action. It all went smoothly even though some of the actors stumbled over their lines. Sad to say, I was one of them. However, Aoi was pretty good. She didn't trip over a single word and she said her lines with the emotion that was required. Before long, it was the... kissing scene. I strode over to Aoi, who was lying in a glass 'coffin'. I bent down and looked at her. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing evenly. Her hands were clasped in front of her and she looked so peaceful, so beautiful. I moved my face towards her and soon, my lips touched hers. Shivers of pleasure slid down my spine. I could feel Aoi jolt a little at my kiss but she didn't spring up, probably because she didn't want to spoil the whole play.

I finally pulled away and Aoi's eyes fluttered open. Her eyes caught mine and I stared into those beautiful ruby orbs. It felt as though there was an electric current flowing between our eyes. We wrapped up the play and the audience burst into applause and cheers. I broke into a smile before I knew it. Well, I had to admit, it was fun. I also had _no idea _why I kissed Aoi on the lips when it was supposed to be on the cheek. However, none of the crew seemed to notice that. Thank God, or the rowdy fangirls would probably go crazy, not that they weren't crazy already.

We went to the backstage where everyone cheered some more. I wasn't about to join in. I headed for the dressing room to change out of the stupid outfit. To my surprise, I felt a warm hand grip my arm. I turned around and Aoi was standing in front of me, her face as red as her eyes.

"Y-Y-You-chan..." she managed to say. "About... that k-kiss... Um... Weren't you supposed to, er, k-kiss me on the... um, cheek?"

A blush crept up my cheeks. "Y-yeah. Sorry about that. You... you just looked so, uh, beautiful and I just, you know, um... subconsciously did that..." Damn it, what the hell did I just say?

"O-oh..."

"Sorry again, Aoi. It must be troublesome to get kissed by someone you don't like, right?" I asked, forcing a smile. "Just forget about that kiss, okay? Uh, I have to... go. See you around."

With that, I spun around and prepared to sprint off. My face was bright crimson and I felt like digging a hole in the ground to bury myself in.

I felt a hand touch my shoulder. The grip was tight and gentle all at the same time. I knew who it was, of course I knew.

"D-don't go, You-chan," she said softly. "I... I don't mind that k-kiss at all... And it isn't because I'm a loose woman... I... um... It's not as if I don't... um... like you... Er, so you d-don't have to a-apologise..."

I turned around and saw that Aoi's face was even redder. She smiled a small smile before spinning around and running away. With my heart thudding loudly, this time, it was my turn to stop her. I reached out and grabbed her arm, spinning her around.

"Don't go, my princess..." I murmured softly.

**To be continued...**

_Next chapter: Confessions_

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><p>It's kind of short, I guess ._. And right now I'm too lazy to read over to check for mistakes so I'm sorry if there are any. Oh, and I think this story is coming to and end soon. Just a couple more chapters, I guess... Thank you for reading :) Review, please? :3<p> 


	4. Confessions

**Author's Note: **Chapter 4 is here :) Thank you to all those who reviewed the previous chapter! ^^ I plan to update this story every Saturday but I did it earlier this week since my mother is forcing me to go overseas with her. Torture, indeed. -.- I'll be back by Monday and I so look forward to it. Anyway, I don't know if I want to add more drama into this story or just end it quickly. Give me some opinions, pretty please? :)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. Do I look like Higuchi Tachibana to you? No.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Confessions<strong>

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><p><strong>POV- Aoi<strong>

My heart thumped as if a bullet train was about to collide into me. You-chan had just grabbed my arm and pulled me back. And what did he call me? _Princess. _I felt like maybe I'd died and gone to heaven right there and then. I turned around and glanced up into his greyish-green eyes.

"I've always liked you, Aoi..." You-chan said, his voice husky.

"R-really?" my eyes widened. He'd been so mean to me that I thought he hated me, that it was just a one-sided love. "M-me too... I... I like you too, You-chan..."

I blushed like nobody's business as he lifted my chin and leaned forward to kiss me. Just one more centimeter and our lips would be touching...

"BAM!" a loud crash brought me back down to earth. We sprang apart, guilty.

"Aoi," a familiar husky voice said. I would recognise that voice _anywhere. _It was, undoubtedly, my elder brother, Natsume Hyuuga. He was the one who had opened the door so forcefully, creating that loud bang. I could have strangled him!

He strode towards me and grabbed my arm. "That performance wasn't that bad. Good for you. We received an invitation from the school to come and watch your performance."

"Onii-ch―" I began to say, but he clapped a hand over my mouth.

"Aoi, the academy allows students to leave for the weekend, doesn't it? Let's go on a date, shall we? After all, you haven't seen me, your boyfriend, for such a long time. Don't you miss me at all?" Natsume-nii said flatly.

"What?" I gasped, but it came out sounding like 'Mmmf!'

I could register the shock that clouded You-chan's eyes. He looked at me in the eye and I could see clearly the emotions that scrolled through his face. Hurt. Anger. Suspicion. Shock. Disappointment.

"Go get changed now, Aoi. Let's catch a movie before heading out to your favourite restaurant for lunch," Natsume-nii continued. I dug my nails into his arm in a futile attempt to remove his hand from my mouth so I could explain to You-chan. What nonsense was my brother spouting? _Girlfriend? _I was his sister, for God's sake! And I knew that he already had a girlfriend, Mikan Sakura-neesan. She was a perfectly friendly and lovely girl.

"Oh, this is...?" Natsume-nii asked, looking at You-chan.

"Mmmmfff!" I spluttered against his hand. I glanced wildly at You-chan but he wasn't even looking at me. I felt as if someone had just shoved a knife into my heart.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Youichi Hijiri, Aoi Hyuuga-san's classmate and acquaintance," he replied coldly, looking directly at Natsume-nii. _Acquaintance? Do acquaintances kiss each other and confess to each other? _I felt like shouting, even though I knew I had no right to do that because of Natsume-nii's stupid lie.

"I'm Natsume. As you can see, I'm Aoi's boyfriend," Natsume-nii said just as coldly, being careful not to mention his last name since it would be too weird if we had the same last name. "Let's go, Aoi. I already bought tickets. You don't want to be late for the movie, now do you?"

Before I could do anything, he dragged me out of the room and to a silent hallway. He pulled away his hand from my mouth and it was like removing his hand from a leak in a water pipe; I started screaming at him.

"What was that for, onii-chan?" I shouted. "Girlfriend? What was that all about? And why the hell do I have to go out with you?"

"We haven't been together for a long time, have we? What's wrong with going to town with your brother once in a while? Now go get dressed. I'll be waiting for you at the main gate," he replied indifferently.

Before I could protest, he pushed me and I pouted, making my way to my dorm room. I bit my lip as I thought of You-chan's expression when Natsume-nii said that I was his girlfriend. I wanted to explain it all to him badly, but he looked as though he didn't want to see me anymore. Okay, fine, I admit. That was a lame excuse. It was just that I had absolutely no guts to face him anymore, after all those nice things he'd said to me. I entered my room and washed off all the makeup from my face. I removed the hair extentions and brushed out my shoulder-length hair. I managed to remove the flimsy dress and throw on a sweater dress, leggings and suede thigh high boots. I grabbed my bag and stormed out of the dorm to meet my stupid brother.

He was leaning against his black sports car at the gate. As usual, girls were crowding around him, giggling and flirting. I rolled my eyes as I approached him. The girls shot me death glares as they slunk away.

"Can we go now?" I asked impatiently.

"Just a minute," Natsume-nii replied. "That stupid Polka is getting drinks. She'll be back soon."

By 'Polka', he meant his girlfriend, Mikan-neesan. I had no idea why he called her that, anyway.

"Aoi-chan!" someone called out cheerfully.

"Speak of the devil," Natsume-nii muttered as Mikan-neesan approached us, waving with one hand and holding a plastic bag in the other.

"Mikan-neesan! Long time no see! How's it going?" I greeted as I wrapped her in a hug and released her.

"Of course, I'm fine. How about you, sweetie?" she replied as she opened the car door and gestured for me to enter.

I slipped into a backseat while Natsume-nii and Mikan-neesan occupied the front seats. I'd always wondered why such a kind and bubbly girl like Mikan-neesan would end up with my brother, a mean, indifferent and idiotic person.

"Well, I'm good, as well," I answered. "However, a certain someone really spoiled my mood today." I added, shooting daggers at the back of my brother's head.

"Oh God, Natsume. What did you do again?" Mikan-neesan groaned as she pulled on her seatbelt.

I gazed at her in wonder. Wow, she really did know my brother and me best. She knew that I was upset because of something he'd done.

"Don't ask, Polka," Natsume-nii snapped.

"I'll tell you later, Mikan-neesan," I leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

She winked and nodded, tossing back her long brown curls.

"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked.

"To the movies, duh," Natsume-nii answered.

When we arrived at the movie theatre, Mikan-neesan pulled me to her side and called to my brother, "Natsume, we're going into the hall first! Get some popcorn and drinks!"

"I'm not your maid, you know." Natsume-nii rolled his eyes but still stormed over to queue for popcorn. Mikan-neesan grinned and dragged me into the hall after showing the usher the tickets. We slid into our seats quietly. We sat in silence for a minute before Mikan-neesan blurted, "So, what did Natsume do?"

I twisted a sliver of hair between my fingers and said quietly, "Um, so You-chan, I mean Youichi, um, he's in my class. Er, so we were about to k-kiss when onii-chan barged in and told Youichi that he was my boyfriend and that we were going out on a date! Youichi looked so shocked and... and hurt..."

Mikan-neesan's huge brown eyes widened and flashed with anger and frustration. "That stupid twit!" she cried out.

"Shush," someone sitting behind us whispered. Mikan-neesan flashed him an embarrassed smile and whispered, "Sorry!"

"Actually," she said softly after a few seconds. "Your brother is doing this all for your sake. He doesn't want you to be toyed with by boys. You two have been together since you were small. You're his only kin. He doesn't want you to be hurt. It's just that he doesn't know how to protect you without hurting you. He's childish and weak in that sense, I guess." She smiled gently, and at that moment, she looked just like an, well, angel. I could see why Natsume-nii fell in love with her.

Natsume-nii came just at that moment and slumped into his seat, carrying a big pack of popcorn and three drinks.

"Although, sometimes he should really let his little sister fight her own battles and don't decide everything by himself," Mikan-neesan added in a louder voice, loud enough for Natsume-nii to hear.

Natsume-nii shot her a look but she just shrugged and smiled.

I love my hopefully-soon-to-be-sister-in-law.

"Bye, Aoi-chan," Mikan-neesan smiled as she hugged me quickly. "Good luck in explaining to Youichi! I'll see you soon! Call me!"

She pantomimed using a telephone as she got into Natsume-nii's car. They'd just dropped me off in front of the academy. I felt slightly better. Mikan-neesan has a way to cheer up depressed people. I made my way to the dining hall to see if there was any pastries left. I was starving.

It was already 9pm and the hallway was silent. A sudden movement in front of me almost made me jump out of my skin. I stopped dead in my tracks and found myself staring into a pair of greyish-green eyes. I felt my heart hammer wildly against my chest.

"Y-You-chan..." I began nervously. "About that..."

"What, Hyuuga? And please don't stand in my way," he said in an icy voice. I felt a sick feeling settle in the pit of my stomach. _He used to call me 'Aoi', not 'Hyuuga'... And that cold voice... It was totally different from the usual You-chan... He used to speak to me in a such a cool, awkward, shy and gentle voice... And it was all my fault why he changed..._

"I... I'm sorry," I blurted and jumped to one side.

He walked past me without even glancing at me. I felt tears prick my eyes but I bit my lower lip to keep them back. I didn't have the right to cry. It wasn't his fault... It was all mine. It was because I brought those stupid guys home to let my brother meet, the guys who were only after my money or my body. They made my brother more wary of the guys I date... They made him paranoid. But You-chan wasn't the type of person who only wanted my body or money. In fact, I didn't think he even knew that my brother was the CEO of a great company.

I slumped down and sat hugging my knees in the middle of the hallway. I didn't care that anyone would see me... I felt my optimistic mood drain away. How foolish had I been? Just because of Mikan-neesan's words, I thought that I could convince You-chan. I thought that I could make up with him. I guess I'd thought too highly of myself. You-chan made it clear that he didn't want to see me anymore, that he thought I was a two-timing bitch. I couldn't help but to put my head in my arms and let the tears flow.

**To Be Continued...**

_Next chapter: Explanations and Excuses_

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><p>Chapter 4 is finally done! :) I'm sorry if there are any errors in the story but I'm in a hurry now... I'm leaving to board the ship soon. I dread it, really. T_T Anyway, thanks for reading :) Reviews, please? :3 And I'm going to repeat this...<strong> Anyway, I don't know if I want to add more drama into this story or just end it quickly. Give me some opinions, pretty please? :) <strong>That is, if you want to give me opinions. See you soon! :D


	5. Explanations and Excuses

**Author's Note: **Once again, thank you for the reviews :) Even though there haven't been many reviews, I'm extremely pleased that at least there _are _reviews. ^^

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters.

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Explanations and Excuses<strong>

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><p><strong>Natsume's POV <strong>

"Darn it, that brat Aoi won't pick up my calls," I grumbled, pressing the 'End Call' button on my phone for the hundredth time that day.

"Well, it's your own fault why she wouldn't speak to you," Mikan Sakura, my girlfriend, murmured.

We were just hanging out on a Saturday afternoon in town, mooching about the shops after having pizza and chicken wings for lunch. Strange enough, that Polka doesn't seem to care about her weight, unlike typical girls. Well, it's not that she's _fat _and needs to watch her weight. She's too skinny, if you ask me.

"You don't have to rub it in, do you?" I rolled my eyes. "I know freakin' well that it's my damn fault my own little sister chooses to ignore us."

"Actually, I've talked to her," Mikan admitted, pink-faced. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but well... You know, everytime I call Aoi, she sounds as though she's been crying."

"Tch. What is this? And all this boils down to me, doesn't it?" I muttered crossly.

"Uh, yes. In my opinion, you should really apologise to Aoi and Hijiri-kun, help to clear the air between those two," Mikan suggested. "After all, what you did was wrong."

"Uh, no. Why should I? That Hijiri dude is so petty and narrow-minded. Definitely not good enough for Aoi. I bet he's no different from all those jerks she used to date," I snapped.

"I think he's different, really," Mikan blurted. "Honestly. You need to give him a chance to prove himself. Trust me on this, Natsume. Take my advice, please. Don't hurt Aoi any further. She's really, really miserable nowadays. I think Hijiri-kun will be good for Aoi..."

"Shut up," I said quietly.

"You don't wish to see your little sister depressed, do you?" she rushed on.

"I warned you," I growled, grabbing Mikan's arm and crushing her petite body to mine. I leaned towards her and kissed her urgently.

"Mmmmf!" Her voice came out all muffled, but she made no attempt to push me away, even though we were kissing in broad daylight in the middle of the street and there were hundreds of people watching us.

"You bastard..." I heard a low voice say.

Reluctantly, I prised my lips away from Mikan's and glared at the person who said it. It was a teenage guy with silver hair and light green eyes. He was clad in a black hoodie and jeans, and was glaring at me with eyes filled with hatred and anger. Before I knew what was happening, he'd grabbed the collar of my white shirt which I'd worn under a black blazer.

"Jackass," he hissed. "Isn't Aoi your girlfriend? Then why are you hooking up with another woman?"

I blinked. _Youichi Hijiri. _No wonder he looked kind of familiar. I shoved him and he retreated two steps.

"Mind your own business," I sneered. What a mess I'd gotten myself into. Really brilliant, Natsume Hyuuga.

"What concerns Aoi concerns me," Hijiri shot back. "I bet she doesn't know that you're a two-timing bastard. Do you know how hurt she'd be if she finds out? Like how I felt when I found out that she has a _boyfriend." _He laughed without humour.

Damn it, this guy... I hated to admit it, but he really seemed like he cared truly for Aoi.

Hijiri grabbed my collar again and threw a punch at my face. I flinched and cursed. I clenched my fist, ready to retaliate, but Mikan clutched onto my arm tightly and shook her head. By now, a crowd had formed and people were whispering.

"Wow, is this a fight for that girl over there? Well, I wouldn't mind trading places with her! Having two hot guys fighting over me must be so cool!"

"This is interesting!"

"What the hell are you looking at?" I growled menacingly at them, and the crowd dispersed in less time than it takes to blink.

"Just remember this, I won't forgive you. I won't tell Aoi about this either, _you _tell her that yourself. If you don't, well, don't blame me if things turn nasty." Hijiri glowered at me before releasing his grip on my collar and striding off.

"Screw him," I muttered, wincing slightly at the punch he'd given me.

Mikan brushed a few manicured fingers across the skin around my right eye. "But that shows that he truly loves Aoi, right? Did you see how mad he was?"

"I'd be blind if I didn't. Damn it."

"So, you _do _approve of him now, don't you?" Mikan smiled as we started walking again, hand in hand.

"I think I'd get struck by lightning if I didn't. Or get murdered by you, at the very least," I grimaced.

"Great," Mikan grinned. "We'll go to Alice Academy tomorrow to clear up this mess, okay? Right now, we need to get to the pharmacy. Your bruise looks bad. Youichi must be really good at fighting; that's cool, huh?"

I rolled my eyes and planted a kiss on top of her head. "Now who's cooler?"

"Natsume, of course," she laughed, blushing.

A smile crawled onto my face and I quickly camouflaged it with an impassive expression.

"You smiled!" Mikan exclaimed, glancing up at me.

"I didn't," I fibbed.

"You did!" she protested.

"Did not," I argued. Just like that, we bickered all the way to the pharmacy.

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><p><strong>Aoi's POV<strong>

"Aoi, are you all right? Your eyes look all red and puffy," my room-mate, Yui, asked me concernedly on Sunday morning.

"H-Huh? Oh, I'm fine, of course. My eyes are fine too... just an infection. Don't worry, I've put drops in them," I lied smooth, forced a smile and quickly headed for the bathroom, as if I hadn't been crying my eyes out because of the misunderstanding with You-chan for the past seven or eight days.

I stared into the mirror above the sink and at my reflection. My eyes were all bloodshot and swollen and my hair was sticking out in all directions. I looked terrible, I felt terrible, I probably _was _terrible. I dragged a comb through my hair, washed up and pulled on a long-sleeved scoop neck tee and jeans. I wasn't in the mood to dress up. I knew I should be looking forward to a fun-filled, Natsume-nii-free day, but somehow I just couldn't bring myself to cheer up.

"I'm going to meet my brother's girlfriend, see you later," I told Yui and quickly headed out of the dorm before she could bombard me with questions.

I checked my digital watch as I raced down the hallway to the stairs- the digits 1000 blinked at me.

'Crash!' To my horror, I'd bumped into someone, causing his books to slide across the carpeted floor.

"I'm so sorry!" I cried, bending down to scoop up the books.

"Don't worry about it," a voice said.

I blinked and gazed up into a pair of all-too-familiar green eyes. I felt my heart freeze. _You-chan. _I stood up hastily and pushed the books towards him. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. They looked so... cold. I remembered the way those eyes of his would twinkle whenever he smiled, and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest. I wasn't going to see it any time soon.

I saw his eyes flicker with something dark, something unspoken, before the same indifference clouded them.

"You-ch..." I began, but stopped in my tracks. I shouldn't call him that anymore, since we were in such an awkward stage. It probably disgusted him, the way I addressed him so affectionately.

"Youichi-kun," I ammended quickly. "I... You... You have to listen to my explanation, p—"

"I'm not obliged to," he interrupted in an icy voice. "Just take care of yourself, stupid woman." With that, he turned and strode away.

I could feel the unshed tears prickling my eyes, threatening to slip down my cheeks any moment. We hadn't spoken to each other for a little more than a week, and all he could say was _stupid woman. _But he wasn't wrong to say that though. I really _was _stupid. I played a part in wrecking things. I just bit my lower lip hard and scampered off to the gates to meet Mikan-neesan.

* * *

><p>"Aoi-chan, over here!" Mikan-neesan waved cheerfully. She was leaning against her white car.<p>

I approached her and smiled at her, "Mikan-neesan. How have you been?"

"Just fine," she grinned. She turned around, knocked on a window of her car and called, "Come on out, Natsume."

My brother opened the door and stepped out, wearing sunglasses and a beanie. _Huh. As if he were a celebrity and needed such stuff to make him more inconspicuous. _But deep down in my heart, I knew that he _was _popular and would definitely attract attention. Sheesh.

I scowled, "What is he doing here?"

"Aoi-chan." Mikan-neesan patted my shoulder gently. I sulked and crossed my arms across my chest.

"Bring me to that Hijiri dude," Natsume-nii said indifferently.

I blinked and snarled, "Haven't you done enough? What else do you want? Sow more discord between us? Well, now he's officially mad at me and is ignoring me, so are you happy now? So stop bothering him anymore!"

"Since when have you started speaking so rudely to your brother?" he cocked his head to one side.

"Since now!"

"Aoi-chan, listen to him," Mikan-neesan pleaded. She faced my brother and removed the sunglasses perched on his nose. I gasped in horror. He had a black eye— well, more like blue-black mottled with purple and green.

"Onii-chan, what happened to you?" I cried, all my anger falling away.

"That Hijiri brat did it," he muttered. "And that's why I'm here today."

"Are you going to beat him up?" I stared at him. "Don't! I mean, I don't know what happened but please don't!"

"As much as it tempts me, I am not going to beat him up." Natsume-nii rolled his eyes. "Just let me talk to him."

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><p><em>Okay, this is such a bad, bad idea, <em>I thought as we approached You-chan's dorm room. I still had no idea what was going on, but Natsume-nii had been so persistent. I hesitated, then rapped on the polished wooden door with my fist. A couple of knocks later, the door opened and You-chan was standing in front of us. His eyes skimmed over us, unimpressed. His gaze lingered with distaste on Natsume-nii.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

I glanced at Natsume-nii uncertainly. I also needed to get away from You-chan's cold eyes.

"To clear things up," he answered shortly. "Anyone in there?" His gaze flicked to the room behind You-chan's shoulder.

"Ryuu went out," You-chan said, letting us in grudgingly. "So what do you mean, _clear things up? _There's nothing much to say, is there?"

"There's a lot to say, actually." Natsume-nii flopped into a plain wooden chair. I stood there beside Mikan-nee awkwardly as You-chan closed the door and sank onto the edge of his bed. He looked at Natsume-nii directly.

"So? What is it? Be quick about it."

Natsume-nii stood up and went over to my side. He threw an arm around my shoulders, and I could see You-chan flinch. I really wanted to murder my brother then. I settled for gnawing on my lip instead. Natsume-nii looked at You-chan doubtfully.

"Don't you see it?" he asked.

"See what?" You-chan snapped. "See you guys flirting? I'm not blind, you know."

Natsume-nii rolled his eyes and removed his arm from my shoulders. "You _are, _actually. Don't you see the resemblence between us? Black hair, red eyes. You could have clocked that we're related. Geez, you're actually kinda dumb, aren't you?"

"And...?" I could see that You-chan was confused.

"My full name is Natsume _Hyuuga. _Hyuuga. Get it? Or do I have to spell it out for you? I. Am. Aoi's. Older. Brother. _Brother, not boyfriend. _Or do you need proof?" Natsume-nii flipped open his wallet and shoved his identification card under You-chan's nose.

You-chan stood up uncertainly and walked over to us. "You are... Aoi's brother?"

"Yes," my brother said, exasperated. "I just freaking lied that I was her boyfriend, okay? I thought she was dating some brainless bastard so I wanted to protect her. But I see that you aren't a bastard, not really. Although maybe the brainless part is true."

"Onii-chan!" I scolded, poking him in the ribs.

"Aoi, this kid here punched me, just because he saw me kissing Mikan yesterday and thought I was two-timing you," he explained, ignoring my attempt to assault him. "How ironic. I'm not into incest, you know. And Polka will be my one and only girlfriend." He pulled Mikan-neesan to him and smirked.

My eyes widened as I gazed at You-chan, who looked like he was in too much shock. He... After all this, he still cared for me... Tears slid down my cheeks, but this time they were tears of happiness.

"You-chan!" I cried, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Aoi..." I felt a pair of familiar arms curl around my waist, and I let the tears flow. "Sorry. I'm really, really sorry."

"N-No, it's not your fault!" I sobbed, clutching at his shirt. I couldn't believe how much I missed him.

"I misunderstood you, it's my fault, really. I really don't know how I can apologise to you."

"That should be my line," I sniffed.

"Well, there _is _a way. Kiss me." I could tell that he was smiling from his voice. I pulled myself away, a little unwilling.

"B-But..." I blushed. "Onii-chan and Mikan-neesan..."

"They didn't want to play gooseberries; they left," You-chan smirked. "And good for them, because if they didn't, I would have thrown them out by force."

He smiled, and I could feel my toes melt. How I missed that smile... He bent down and kissed me full on the lips. I could feel my toes curl and my fingers tingle, and every single thing flew out of my mind. I let myself melt into You-chan's arms.

"I love you," I whispered as we pulled away.

"I know. I love you too," You-chan patted my hair, grinning cheekily. "But let me tell you this, you won't be hearing that anymore, okay? I don't want people to think I make a habit of this mushy stuff."

I just smiled. I wasn't going to let anything destroy this moment of happiness. _Never. _

**To Be Continued...**

_Next Chapter (End): The Rainbow After the Storm_

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><p>That's it for now! :) There you go, here's a happy ending! Although I'm aware that life doesn't always end up with happy endings, things don't have to be bad if you don't want them to. Just make the best of things and be more positive! :)<p>

Thank you for reading and please leave a review ^^ Please note that the next chapter will be the last one! And I'm sorry if there are any errors, but I'm an extremely lazy person. :P Feel free to tell me if there are any. I welcome all sorts of reviews. Thank you! ^^


	6. The Rainbow After the Storm

**Author's Note: **So, we've finally come to the last chapter of this fanfic :) I wish to thank all those people who have reviewed, favourited, or at least read this story. Since there are very few reviewers and reviews for this story, I'm going to list them out. A huge thank you and hug for **Teru Hime, Ducks Are Oily, pwenie, unknownperson (anonymous) and ejo, **especially to **Teru Hime **and** pwenie. **Both of you have reviewed pretty much every chapter, and I thank you from the very bottom of my heart for supporting this story. Of course, this applies to everyone else who has bothered to read this at all. :)

And I apologise for the rather long Author's Note, but this is a special case, right? It's the last chapter after all. ;) I'm sorry for the late update too, I've been really lazy lately. Must be the school holidays' fault. Anyway, if you want to read something else by me, you can check on my profile. They're all from Gakuen Alice, too. Cheers. :)

_This chapter's format is inspired by Meg Cabot's boy series. I had a lot of fun typing this chapter. :) I really enjoyed writing in this format._

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters.

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: The Rainbow After the Storm<strong>

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><p><strong><span>7 Years Later<span>**

From: Natsume Hyuuga

_Hijiri, come to our place this Saturday with Aoi. It's Misa's one-month-old celebration, which, for your information, is only for a few very special guests. Be honoured._

Received: 3:46pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Natsume Hyuuga

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><p>From: Youichi Hijiri<p>

_Misa, your third child? You're sure fast; three kids at 27._

Received: 3.51pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Youichi Hijiri

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><p>From: Natsume Hyuuga<p>

_I'll take that as a compliment. Anyway, it's not me who's fast. It's you who is slow._

Received: 3:52pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Natsume Hyuuga

* * *

><p>From: Youichi Hijiri<p>

_What exactly do you mean by that?_

Received: 3.53pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Youichi Hijiri

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><p>From: Natsume Hyuuga<p>

_You've been cohabiting with Aoi for the past five years or so, and you still haven't made a move on her. She's a good kid, guys would eat their shoes to replace you. Act fast, buddy._

Received: 3:53pm 4-6-10

Sender: Natsume Hyuuga

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><p>From: Youichi Hijiri<p>

_Weren't you really overprotective of Aoi? Now you want me to 'make a move on her'. What, do you want me to, I don't know, have pre-martial sex or something with her?_

Received: 3.54pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Youichi Hijiri

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><p>From: Natsume Hyuuga<p>

_Are you pretending to be dumb, or what? Get your mind out of the gutter, will you? And don't make me sound like a mother hen. I am not overprotective. I'd kill you if you did it with her before MARRIAGE. That's my point. Marriage. So get a ring from Jenny's- or was it Tiffany's? Whatever.-, get on your knees and say the four magic words, my boy._

Received: 3:57pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Natsume Hyuuga

* * *

><p>From: Youichi Hijiri<p>

_… Somehow, it doesn't sound very convincing coming from you. I never knew you were a fan of saying the four magic words. _

Received: 3.58pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Youichi Hijiri

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><p>From: Natsume Hyuuga<p>

_Actually, it was only two words, for me. 'Marry me.' And Polka Dots said yes, and that was that. Now we're happily married- if you can say that a life where you can only get a quickie over the kitchen counter once every few mornings is a happy one- with three kids. Do it, buddy. Aoi may be a great kid, but she's a woman, after all._

Received: 4:01pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Natsume Hyuuga

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><p>From: Youichi Hijiri<p>

_Um, ew. My interest in your sex life equates to my interest in Powerpuff Girls. I could do without your interference in my love life too. _

Received: 4:01pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Youichi Hijiri

* * *

><p>From: Natsume Hyuuga<p>

_I just rang up my colleague, and he said he'd gladly take Aoi out on a date. And don't tell me you don't wish to marry Aoi. I know you do._

Received: 4:02pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Natsume Hyuuga

* * *

><p>From: Youichi Hijiri<p>

_… Fine, you win. By the way, since when did you become a mind-reader? Oh, and since you're her brother, you tell me what kind of ring she'd like._

Received: 4:05pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Youichi Hijiri

* * *

><p>From: Natsume Hyuuga<p>

_I'm her older_ _brother_,_ not her personal shopper. How the heck would I know what kind of ring she'd prefer? I gotta go. Mikan is whining about Haru tearing her copy of Twilight or whatever. Good luck, dude._

Received: 4:06pm, 4-6-10

Sender: Natsume Hyuuga

* * *

><p>From: You-chan :)<p>

_Aoi, don't bother to cook this evening. Let's go out for dinner. I've reserved a table for two at Anna's. Yes, Anna's, that restaurant which has a three-month waiting list. Anna-nee's my friend's sister, so yeah._

Received: 5:26pm, 8-6-10

Sender: You-chan :)

* * *

><p>From: Aoi<p>

_Oh, that's so sweet of you! Wow, Anna's! I've always wanted to go to that restaurant. :DDD See ya! _

Received: 5:38pm, 8-6-10

Sender: Aoi

* * *

><p>From: Aoi-chan :D<p>

_Mikan-neesan! OH MY GOD. I am texting you from beneath the table at Anna's, where You-chan has brought me for dinner. I think I just saw a small square box peeking out from the top of his jacket pocket. Do you think he's going to–  
><em>

Received: 7:26pm, 8-6-10

Sender: Aoi-chan :D

* * *

><p>From: Mikan-neesan :)<p>

_OMG. Don't leave me in suspense here! :O What happened?_

Received: 7:27pm, 8-6-10

Sender: Mikan-neesan :)

* * *

><p>From: Mikan-neesan :)<p>

_Aoi-chan? What happened? _

Received: 8:12pm, 8-6-10

* * *

><p>From: Mikan-neesan :)<p>

_If you don't call me within one hour, I swear I'm going to ring up the police._

Received: 9:01pm, 8-6-10

* * *

><p><em>You'd better keep your message short, if you know what's good for you. Sorry, that was Natsume. You know how he acts... Anyway, you've reached Natsume and Mikan Hyuuga. We're not available right now, but leave a message after the beep and we'll get back to you, promise! NOT. Oh shush, Natsume.<em>

_(Beep)  
><em>

Mikan-neesan, this is Aoi. I'm so sorry for not replying to your texts yesterday, but... (squeals) You-chan... proposed! He really did! Oh my God! I–

_Sorry your call got sent to voicemail, Aoi-chan! Haru was being... difficult. He threw his mashed potato all over Natsume's hair. I'm Mikan, if you cannot recognise my voice after all that shouting at Haru. And what? You-chan did? I'm soooooooo happy for you guys!_

Send my love to my niece and nephews! Yes, he did! I was too excited and... blissed out to reply to you.

_I can imagine. Now, give me a detailed descrip– (crash) Natsume, get Haru, will you? I'm in a middle of an important conversation! (crash) Sorry about that, Aoi-chan. That was Haru, again. Detailed description of yesterday night, pretty please?_

Um, are you sure this is the right time? You seem... preoccupied.

_Oh yes, don't worry about it. Everything's absolutely f– (shouts) fine. Do continue, dear. And remember, I want a totally detailed description._

Uh, if you're sure... Anyway, OH MY GOD. It was so super sweet. We were at Anna's, having the most fantastic dinner– there was even a different wine after every course. It was fabulous. Then, after I texted you about the box peeking out from his pocket, he dropped a spoon onto the floor, so I bent down and picked it up for him. He poured me another glass of that heavenly wine and then I took a sip. He smiled– yeah, he SMILED. For, like, the first time since forever– and encouraged me to drink more. I was all, "Well, all right, if you'd drink with me." So we did, and then I almost choked on my wine. I coughed like crazy and You-chan started panicking and smacking my back. And guess what did I spit out? A ring. An engagement ring. It turned out he wanted to go for a more romantic approach, so he dropped the ring into my glass of wine. And I spoiled it. The romantic ambience. I just had to choke on that stupid ring. Oh, scratch that. That beautiful, wonderful, superb, lovely ring. Um, Mikan-neesan? Are you still there?

_(short silence) Oh my God. I can't believe it. You had it much better than I did, even if you did choke on your ring. How does it look like, anyway? Do you know how your brother proposed to me? He simply shoved the ring onto my finger while I was typing on my laptop and said "Marry me." He didn't even ask me! It was more like he demanded me to marry him. But oh well, I love him, and that's what matters. But that was just so sweet, that thing You-chan did. Believe me, you've found yourself a great man, even if he does have a habit of picking extra-scary horror movies for your movie nights every Saturday._

Oh, onii-chan can be such a twit! But he really loves you, I can tell! And the ring is a red diamond on a silver band. You-chan said that the red diamond represented my eyes, and the silver band represented his hair colour! I almost cried right then and there, I swear. Anyway, after I choked, I spit it out something hard and discovered something shiny and sparkly blinking up at me. I stared at You-chan, bewildered, and then he slipped onto his knee, took the ring from me, wiped it on his napkin– it was wet with wine and saliva– and offered it to me, saying, "Will you marry me, Aoi? Y'know I'm no good with words, so... yeah." He looked so cute, all awkward and shy! _Aoi, stop sounding like a crazy fangirl. And I was NOT shy nor cute, okay? Stop telling Mikan-nee everything and twisting my words. _

_Was that You-chan?_

Well, yes. He's such a dork sometimes. And I so did not twist his words! They're all true! Oh, Mikan-neesan, I'm just so happy I could die! Please tell me this is not a dream.

_Well, it's not. Congratulations, Aoi-chan! I'm really, really happy for you! So, did anything happen after that?_

Um, yeah. We went home and... you know, did it. _You're such an idiot, Aoi. Too much information. _You-chan, that's mean! (crash) Don't! (bang)

_Um, hello? Is everything alright over there? _

Sorry, Mikan-nee. Youichi here. Anyway, forget what you just heard from Aoi, okay? About the, uh, you-know-what. Natsume-nii would_–_

_Too little too late, young man. It's Natsume Hyuuga. You did it with Aoi, huh? Well, you're gonna get it from m__–_

Stop acting like a mother hen, will you? We're engaged. We can do whatever we want.

_(smack) Oh, sorry about that, dear. Natsume's a little crabby today after Hiro threw up on his important document from work. _

Your kids sure are feisty, Mikan-nee.

_Well, You-chan, they're adorable and active and playful. Oh, and of course you can do anything you want with Aoi. She's your fiancee now! Do use contraceptives though, okay? I know Aoi wouldn't like to be seen walking down the aisle with a bulging tummy. _

Um, okay. Thanks.

_You're welcome! If you have any questions about weddings and whatnot, just give me a call! Oh, and do remember to send us an invitation to your wedding!_

Well, of course. Thanks again. And congrats about your third child. Anything you want in particular?

_I wouldn't care about all those baby stuff, I already have tons of them! Just let me be Aoi's bridesmaid, if that wouldn't be too troublesome, okay? Please?_

Of course, bridesmaid. See you soon.

_Yay, thanks! See ya this coming Saturday! The kids are raring to see you guys!_

* * *

><p><em>Aoi Hyuuga<em>

_and_

_Youichi Hijiri_

_request the honour of your presence_

_to share in the celebration_

_of their marriage_

_on_

_Saturday, the seventeenth of December_

_Two thousand and eleven_

_at six o'clock in the evening_

_Alice Church_

_53694 Arisu Street_

_Tokyo, Japan  
><em>

_followed by a reception_

_at_

_Hyuuga Sakura Hotel_

**The End  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Please note that the wedding invitation's locations are purely fiction. :) Review, pleaaaaaase? :3 It's the last chapter after all! As usual, feel free to point out mistakes, if any, to me. ^^ I'm aware that this format may be prohibited on FFN, but if it does get removed, I'll reupload this chapter in the normal format.<p>

And yes, Natsume and Mikan own a hotel here. :D

**Thank you for reading and supporting PS. I Think I Love You.**


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